FACT CHECK: Do These Photos Show Black People Being Mistreated In Ukraine?

A post shared on Facebook allegedly shows several photos of black people being mistreated in Ukraine.

Verdict: False

The pictures show African migrants apprehended in Spain. They are unrelated to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Fact Check:

The U.N. states that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to more than 3 million people evacuating the country, with over half of them going to Poland, according to BBC News.

One post shared on Facebook claims black refugees from Ukraine are being discriminated against and features several photos allegedly showing dozens of black men being mistreated by authorities in Ukraine. The photos show a large group of black men sitting on a concrete surface outdoors, many without shoes. One photo shows a man with a bloodied face.

However, the photos are not from Ukraine, Poland or any adjacent country. All three of the images featured in the post can be found on Getty Images with captions that indicate they show African migrants who were apprehended after attempting to cross the border into Spain.

“This video grab shows migrants arriving at the Temporary Center for Immigrants and Asylum Seekers (CETI) in Melilla after jumping the border fence separating Spain’s Melilla enclave from Morocco on March 2, 2022,” reads the caption of one image. “Around 1,200 migrants tried to storm the border separating Spain’s Melilla enclave from Morocco on March 3, 2022, with 380 getting across, a day after the biggest such attempt on record.”

Melilla is a Spanish enclave on the northern coast of Morocco, according to Britannica. More than 2,500 African migrants attempted to cross into the enclave on March 2, with about 500 making it past the border, Reuters reported.

Discrimination against black residents of Ukraine trying to escape the country has been reported, including reports of African university students not being allowed on departing trains, according to CBS News. The African Union said it was disturbed by the reports, NBC News reported.

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